US President Donald Trump said American forces have struck about 5,000 targets in Iran since the Middle East conflict began last month and claimed the country’s missile capability has been reduced to around 10 percent.
Speaking at the Republican Members Issues Conference in Florida on Monday, Trump said US forces also sank 46 Iranian naval ships over a period of three and a half days.
Trump recounted asking military officials why the vessels were destroyed instead of captured. “They were top-of-the-line ships,” he said, adding that he questioned why the US did not seize them for its own use. According to Trump, a military official replied that it was “more fun to sink them,” and that destroying the ships was also considered safer.
The remark drew laughter from Republican lawmakers present at the event.
Trump described the campaign as a limited military mission aimed at removing threats in the region, saying the United States would continue operations until the enemy was “totally and decisively defeated.”
He also warned Iran against disrupting oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy route.
In a social media post, Trump said that if Iran blocked the flow of oil through the strait, the United States would respond “twenty times harder” than it has so far.
Iran responded by saying it would not allow “one litre of oil” to leave the region if attacks by the United States and Israel continued. An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson said Tehran would decide when the war ends, according to Iranian state media.
The conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States has already shaken global markets, pushing oil prices higher and causing volatility in stock markets.
The war began on February 28 when US and Israeli forces launched joint strikes on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran later appointed his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader.